Saturday, July 10, 2021

PETE GOES KAYAKING.

Day 52 – A gorgeous day today! Threats of rain & thunderstorms are gone, low humidity and full sun have arrived. We took our chairs & sat outside with Cathie & Pete at the neighboring campsite. While Pete chewed up his tennis ball, we decided to go kayaking. What to do with the dog? Take him with us.

Our kayaks are for one person each. We followed Cathie to the general store in North Hero where she rented a kayak with a large enough opening for a big, heavy dog, and herself. On the way to the boat launch at Sand Bar off Route 2, we stopped at (where else!), Wally’s, for sandwiches, only to find there was a HUGE line-up of customers. Looking at about a 45 minute to an hour wait for sandwiches to go, we decided to just try fast food. We went to Seb’s, down the street, for merely adequate, but fast, food.

At the boat launch (which is really a beach where you push off), we unloaded the kayaks from the Honda. (All three were strapped together on top.) Petey immediately went in the water to look for little fish. He is obsessed. When it came time for him to get in the kayak with Cathie, he wasn’t so sure he wanted to go, but being the trained & extremely well-behaved dog that he is, he obligingly climbed aboard, complete with his own life jacket. We all paddled out in the shallower water through the tall reeds. At first, Pete was unsure but he soon relaxed. He liked paddling through the reeds. We stopped once to give him a break and let him “fish”. When it was time for him to get back in the boat, he would get in & then jump out again, but he quickly did what he was told and relaxed, even going to sleep & snoring. Cick any picture below to see a slideshow.

We got beyond the reeds into deeper water when we paddled into the Lamoille River. This is where most of the birds & turtles were to be found. So while Pete happily slept, we paddled around while Rob took pictures of the various wildlife. We encountered other people while on the River – some kayakers, a few standing paddle-boarders, and several heavily-filled party pontoon boats. Whoopee!

We eventually paddled back to the boat launch. It was crowded, but people really got a kick out of Pete as he hopped from the kayak and began his relentless search for little fish. We packed the boats back onto the Honda, put up our gear, and let the wonder dog play for awhile, then headed back to the general store to return the kayak. A great day.

Later we all had dinner & drinks under the large maple tree. The high today was 75 degrees, breezy, and sunny. We’re going to hate to leave here on Monday. We’ll come back to camp here again for sure.